Building a Better Prairie:
Assessing Planting Strategies for Restoration
Noah Kruis, Andrew Hurst, Dr. David Warners, Calvin College
Urbanization and agriculture have changed the
landscape of West Michigan from one of sprawling
Oak Savannahs and open prairies to manicured
lawns and monoculture fields. While these may look
like beautiful natural areas, lush with greenery to the
eye of an ecologist or a butterfly, these are barren
biological deserts.
Our research this summer has focused on restoring
these highly disturbed areas to the original diverse
ecosystems of native prairie grasses and
wildflowers.
Method
Restoration Experiment 2002
Our research involved the collection of data from and experiment started last summer by Amy
Jonker and Dave Aupperlee. The setup for the investigation involved creating:
30 identical 1m2 quadrats
-10 planted with prairie pots
-10 planted with individual transplants
-10 just the seed mix (spread across all as a control)
Amy and Dave constructed two such experiments along the banks of retention ponds near the
Prince Conference Center one with wetland species the other with dry prairie species. Data was
collected data on survivorship and height from Amy and Dave’s year-old experiment.
Results
Our primary question is how can one go about such
restoration efforts effectively and efficiently?
100
8.00
p < 0.01
90
p < 0.01
Average Number of Plants per Quadrat
(xmax = 9)
Traditionally this has been accomplished by
spreading seed mixes in disturbed areas, however
this method takes immense patience for seedlings to
develop and these tiny plants are often choked out
by weedy invasive species.
p < 0.01
9.00
7.00
80
6.00
70
5.00
Dry Prairie Pots
4.00
Dry Transplants
3.00
Average Height (cm)
Abstract
60
Prarie Pot 30, June 2003
50
Transplant 30, June 2003
40
Restoration Experiment 2003
30
2.00
20
1.00
10
The alternative that we are trying to assess involves
raising plants from seed in greenhouses and then
transplanting these directly into the restoration sites.
Ratibida pinnata
Asclepias tuberosa
Sorghastrum nutans
Elymus canadensis
0
Ratibida pinnata
Firgure 1: Average survivorship among species in dry prairie quadrats (n=10) Error bars show
one standard error about the mean (SEM)
Asclepias tuberosa
Sorghastrum nutans
Elymus canadensis
Figure 2: Average species hieght per quadrat for dry prairie. (n = 30) Error bars show one
standard error about the mean.
9.00
60
8.00
p < 0.01
50
7.00
p < 0.01
6.00
40
5.00
4.00
Wet Prairie Pots
Wet Transplants
3.00
Average Height (cm)
Average Number of Plants per Quadrat
(xmax = 9)
Specifically we are asking, are plants more likely to
thrive if transplanted individually or in groups of
four species clumped together, affectionately known
as “Prairie Pots.”
Our experiment was a continuation with variation on this
experiment. Our experiment was set up along the road to
the Gainey Athletic Fields and involves different dry
prairie species:
-
30
•
Andropogon gerardii, (Big bluestem)
•
Bromus kalmii (Prairie Brome)
•
Rudbeckia hirta (Black Eyed Susan)
•
Penstemon hirsutus (Bearded Tongue)
Wet Prairie Pot
Wet Transplant
20
p = 0.03
2.00
10
1.00
0
Scripus atrovirens
Asclepias incarnata
Eupatorium maculatum
Bromus ciliatus
Firgure 3: Average survivorship among species in wetland quadrats. (n=10) Error bars show
one standard error about the mean (SEM)
Scripus atrovirens
Asclepias incarnata
Eupatorium maculatum
Figure 4: Average species hieght per quadrat for dry prairie. (n = 30) Error bars show one
standard error about the mean
Conclusions
From the data collected we were able to conclude that some species do better when grown and
planted as individuals (Ratibida pinnata, Scirpus atrovirens), whereas other species grow better in
community (Elymus canadensis, Eupatorium maculatum).
We also noted that environmental factors such as hydrology affected survivorship more than
proximity to other plants; this was evident because the wetland quadrats experienced flooding that
killed many plants of some species in particular.
Research needs to continue to expand our knowledge of how best to conduct effective and efficient
restoration. The continuation of the experiment through variation hopefully will yield further data
as to the most effective strategies of restoration.
The total number of plants used was reduced to 20, as
opposed to 36 in the previous experiment, in hope of
accentuating any affects that crowding might have on the
species being tested.
Acknowledgements
We would like to thank the following people for their help with this
project:
Jeni Gort, Tony Westrate, Aaron Pascucci, David Aupperlee, John
Verstraete, Alida McKeague, Amy Jonker
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